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“I’m a fair male, so long as you’re not trying to convince me to abandon your health.” He brushed his lips against my knuckles again, and we reached the den.
Sure enough, the place was full. The couches were occupied by ginormous, tattooed men, most of whom seemed to be in one conversation or another. Some were simply seated, staring at the walls in front of them as if they were barely there at all.
All of the chairs in the kitchen area were full too, and someone had carried in a bunch more to form another line behind the couch, making space for even more men.
The chatter died down as we neared them, and I noticed a small table set up at the front of the room, with two empty chairs behind it.
At least I wouldn’t be sitting in front of them alone.
All their eyes were on me, and my grip on Ivaylo’s hand tightened.
“You’re prepared. And unfortunately for me, they will worship your every word,”he said into my mind.“Do not fear their judgment.”
I nodded lightly, and we walked over to the chairs.
I set my papers down on the table, and Ivaylo brushed a kiss to my lips before he strode away to get me food.
Though I wanted to shoot him a dirty look for abandoning me, I didn’t want the rest of the pack to see.
“They will respect you more when you address them without me. Show them how worthy you are of that respect.”
Damn him for wanting me to be independent.
I mean, I was grateful for it.
But still, damn him.
I remained standing for a minute, figuring that would be the best way to make an introduction. “Hi, everyone. I hope this is less awkward for you than it is for me.”
The remark earned me a few chuckles, and a few smiles.
“My name is Ezra Matthews, and as you may know by now, I’m from Earth. Most humans have two or three names, though some of us have even more.”
Surprise flooded some of their gazes, and I could tell I had their attention.
“Like humans in your world, humans on Earth are born into families rather than packs. We’re all very different, but similar in a lot of ways that count. To simplify things, I’m going to focus on the relationship side of people from my world, because I know that’s what you guys really care about.”
I got a few more nods of approval.
“The first thing you need to understand is that most humans from my part of the world are very slow to tie their life to someone else’s.” I launched into an explanation of marriage verses mating, and held the men in fascination. Some of them were taking notes, and others were reading the notes as I spoke, pointing out things they wanted the note-takers to add.
Ivaylo sat down beside me as I reached a decent stopping point, and when he put a utensil in my hand, I got the memo that I needed to stop and eat unless I wanted a grumpy mate.
So, I transitioned into a question-and-answer forum, and Ivaylo answered questions while I ate. I spoke up when he missed something, and he didn’t mind the interruptions in the slightest, leaving his hand on my thigh beneath the table.
Everyone could probably see the physical contact, but I didn’t mind.
They all knew we were mated, anyway.
“Ezra adapted quickly,” one of the men pointed out, gesturing to me as I finished my plate and set my utensil down. “Why shouldn’t we expect the others to do the same?”
“I’ve got this one.” I set my hand on top of Ivaylo’s. “Serae’s magic is focused on finding those who would be glad to leave Earth, right? People who have nothing tying them there anymore? And her magic will take her to a place relative to where I’m from, so it’s likely that most of them will be in similar situations?” I asked.
Multiple nods told me I had that correct.
“The thing is, I had a good life on Earth. I wanted to leave because I had no family left, and no passion for my chosen profession. That was it. Not everyone who wants out of their life will be in the same boat; it’s safe to say that most of them probably won’t be.”
I explained abusive relationships, rape, and mental illness. I explained loss, grief, and poverty. I knew they likely had some of those things in Evare, if not all of them, but they definitely didn’t have them among the wolves. And from what I could tell of the wolves, they weren’t interested in interacting with other types of beings in Evare, magical or nonmagical.
